Remember
by Mega07ghost
Summary: It seemed to be a normal morning in the life of Vinnie Dakota - until he realizes that someone is missing.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This story is based on an idea a friend of mine had. It is probably going to be a TwoShot. Please enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own the series or the characters. They belong to their rightful owners and I just borrow them._

Remember

Vinnie Dakota opened his eyes, sat up and stretched his arms while yawning loudly. He got out of bed, put on his cloth and walked into the kitchen, straight to the coffee machine. Without his morning coffee the brown haired man wouldn't be able to survive the day. People who saw him during daytime always thought of him as way too energized and unstoppable but without his daily caffeine he felt tired and exhausted. The cause might have been his usual nightmares but Dakota tried not to think about them too often. Though he had heard once that writing down and facing the nightmares was the best way to deal with them, he didn't feel ready for it. Furthermore, talking about depressing and bad things didn't fit to Dakota's personality at all. There was only one person in the world who knew about his sleeping problems. Balthazar Cavendish.

Dakota couldn't help but smile while thinking about his partner. Though the man often didn't treat Dakota really nice he was the only friend he had. And he was the best friend.

 _'Opposites attract each other they say, right?'_

Expecting that his friend was sitting at the kitchen table right behind him, Dakota said, after a sip of his coffee:

"So... what's today's mission?"

No reply. Why would Cavendish not answer? Dakota turned around... and two empty chairs greeted him.

"Cavendish?", he asked, his voice loud enough to reach every room of their small apartment. Dakota put his cup of coffee down and started to search through the house.

Their bedroom. Empty.

The small living room. Empty.

The bathroom. Empty.

Where was Cavendish? He wouldn't just leave the house without informing Dakota. So he searched through the rooms again, looking for a message from his partner. Nothing. There was no hint where Cavendish could be.

A feeling of uneasiness started to grow inside of Dakota. He couldn't remember when he and Cavendish hadn't been together the last time. He didn't even know if they ever had been separated since they had been assigned to their mission. So being alone was quite frightening. The small apartment suddenly seemed way too big for Dakota.

"C-Cavendish?", he tried to call out for his friend again but again there was no answer.

 _'Okay... Calm down. There has to be a simple explanation.'_

Dakota closed his eyes and focused on calming his breath.

A mission. Yes! Cavendish had gotten their new mission and it had been the same as always: Protect the pistachios. And because he had been annoyed by that he had tried to fulfill the mission on his own.

This was the answer. It had to be.

Now Dakota just had to find out what the mission was and then he could go and find Cavendish. It would be a cakewalk!

Dakota went to the living room and walked over to the computer that stood on a table in the left corner. He entered the password and waited for Mr. Block to answer his call. It didn't take too long.

"Dakota, Caven-", the man showed on the screen started talking but stopped himself when he could only see Dakota.

"Where is Cavendish?", he asked, narrowing his eyes. Dakota swallowed. Yeah... He was asking himself the same question. But Mr. Block would probably get angry if he knew that Cavendish was missing and Dakota didn't want to cause his partner problems.

"Eh- He... He's in the bathroom. I'm calling to get the new mission's coordinates for us.", Dakota explained and though Block's eyes narrowed even more he just nodded. The computer printed out a paper with the new task and Dakota took it in his hands, read the lines that were written on it.

"I hope and believe that you won't disappoint me this time. Good luck!"

Mr. Block ended the call and Dakota mumbled to himself: "I hope so too."

If Cavendish wasn't on a mission... then were had he disappeared to? Dakota couldn't think of any place. He strolled over to the window and held his breath when he looked outside. The car... It was gone! Cavendish had taken the car with him. That meant that he could be anywhere... anytime!

"Oh no... no, no, no."

Dakota ran out of the house and examined the empty parking lot where their time travel car was supposed to stand. What was going on? Dakota couldn't understand where Cavendish would travel to without him and more importantly why. No mission, no other plans - there was no reason for him to travel through time and space.

 _'I have to find him. But how? I have no idea where he would go?'_

Dakota circled the empty parking space while hitting against his head with one fist.

"Think, think, think.", he said again and again; it sounded like a mantra. If he only had a point to start with his search. He thought of all the times and places he and Cavendish had visited. Most of the time it had been here, in Danville. But there were tons of other places to be checked.

Luckily, Dakota still had their little teleportation gadget which worked just like the car.

And so he started his search, hoping to find his lost partner. He travelled everywhere. The old Egypt, Rome and all the other past centuries. Nowhere... Cavendish was nowhere to be found. It was like searching for the popular needle in a haystack. The world was way too big, time was unlimited.

Fear and worry nearly drove Dakota crazy, he even double checked some of the places just to make sure that he hadn't missed his friend.

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months...

Six months. He searched for him for half a year. But he couldn't find him. With every day passing Dakota's power was fading more and more. He rarely ate or slept - he had no time for it. All he could focuse on was finding Cavendish. It became his new mission. All the times Block called him he simply ignored it and didn't answer. Pistachios? Really?! They were not important. Cavendish was important! And Dakota didn't dare to tell Block about his partner's disappearence. His boss would probably just shrug his shoulders. He didn't care about them. He never had. Just like Brick and Savannah. They would never help him with the search.

Finally, after a really long time, Dakota returned to their apartment. He entered the living room and leaned against the wall, closed his eyes.

' _Where are you, Cavendish?_ ', he thought and tears started to stream down his face. Slowly, he let himself slide down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He burried his face in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably. Why? Why had Cavendish left him alone? Why wasn't he coming back home? Dakota didn't deserve this loneliness.

What was preventing Cavendish from coming back? Was he injured... or even worse dead? Horrifying images started to fill Dakota's imagination and he tried to get rid off them by shaking his head. No, no! Cavendish couldn't die. Dakota had always saved him. He had been there to turn back time. But now? What if something had happened to Cavendish while Dakota wasn't with him? Who would have saved him in a threatening situation? There was no one. They just had each other!

Or what if Cavendish had found a new partner? Someone who could complete their mission better than Dakota. No... Cavendish would never betray him. That wasn't like him.

So what had happened?

The sound of a doorknob being turned filled the air and Dakota looked up. His heart seemed to stop for a second when a tall man entered the room.

Silence. The two man just stared at each other without saying a word.

And suddenly emotions washed over Dakota. He jumped up and took the other man in his arms, held him as tight as he could.

"Cavendish.", he sniffed while more tears streamed down his face. He was back! His partner had returned to him. The tears of sadness turned into tears of relief and joy in an instance until...

"Ehm... exuse me, but... who are you?"

The peaceful world crumbled into pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thanks for the review, the favorites and the followers. Please enjoy the second part of the story._

Remember Part 2

"Ehm... exuse me, but... who are you?"

Carefully, Cavendish got out of the tight hug and looked at the man in front of him. Who was that? And what was he doing in his apartment?

' _Can't one travel through time for 6 months without someone new renting their apartment?_ ', Cavendish thought and remembered all the places he had been in the past months. It had been a long journey but he had managed to save the world many times. Of course he hadn't told his boss about all that because the man had assigned him to the most irrelevant mission ever: saving pistachios. And when Mr. Block had announced that Cavendish would get a partner for that mission he had taken the car and had fled. He had important jobs to do.

"C- Cavendish..."

The shocked look on his opposite's face slowly turned into a small smile.

"C- Come on, stop joking. I- It's me... Dakota."

Cavendish searched through his brain but this name didn't ring a bell. Dakota? He didn't know anyone by that name. Or else he surely would remember.

"Why are you looking at me like that?", the man - Dakota - asked with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be quite confused about Cavendish's behavior.

"I apologize, but... do we know each other? Because I certainly have no idea who you might be."

The shock was written all over Dakota's face again. Cavendish couldn't remember him? But... how was that possible? Dakota took a few steps back and shook his head in disbelief, staring at his partner with wide eyes. If this was a joke, then it was a bad one. No... Cavendish didn't joke around. That was not like him. So he had to be serious about not remembering Dakota.

"I am your friend... and your partner, Cavendish. We were assigned to the pistachio mission. The one that you don't believe is good enough for us."

Now it was Cavendish who narrowed his eyes. Partner? He hadn't met his partner yet. But the word 'friend' indicated that he knew this Dakota for quite some time. Then why couldn't he remember him? Or maybe the man called every new partner a 'friend'.

"So... You are the man who will help me with this pistachio thing?", he asked unsure and Dakota shook his head again.

"I _have_ helped you with it and I'm still doing it. We've been partners for years!"

Cavendish tilted his head in a questioning way. What was this stranger talking about?

"I... think I would remember that.", he replied and Dakota exclaimed: "Apparently you don't. Cavendish, we know each other for such a long time, we always fail to protect the pistachios, we are a team! And suddenly - some months ago - I wake up and you're gone. I have searched for you everywhere... in every century. And here you are, back again, but you don't remember me?"

Dakota's voice broke towards the end and the tears started coming again.

No... Cavendish didn't remember him. But as strange as it seemed, he believed these words. Some kind of feeling inside of him told him that it was true. Though he couldn't remember Dakota, a part of him felt a certain recognition. His brain had no idea who the man was... but his heart did. His heart felt something for him - especially now while watching him cry. Cavendish couldn't deny that he suddenly felt the strong urge to take Dakota in his arms, to comfort him. But he didn't dare to. Instead he awkwardly rubbed his hands and stared at the floor.

"I... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't remember you.", he finally said after Dakota had let himself slide down the wall again. He was wiping away the tears with his sleeve, tried to pull himself together.

"It- It's not your fault. At least I think it's not.", he sniffed and tried to think straight, block out his emotions. What could have caused the memory loss? Dakota had no idea.

"So... You said that we are partners? Why... why don't you tell me something about the two of us? Maybe I will remember then.", Cavendish suggested and Dakota looked up when he walked over to him.

"I... I think I have a better idea. I can show you everything. We... we could travel back in time and watch ourselves."

Dakota's eyes widened in surprise when Cavendish offered him a helping hand.

"Then let's go."

Smiling, Dakota took the hand and stood up. Yes... he would make Cavendish remember their relationship. And he would find out why his friend had lost his memories.

They started with the first time they had met each other. The two of them hid inside a closet and opened the door just a little bit to get a look at the scenery.

 _Past-Cavendish was pacing up and down inside the room, waiting for his partner to arrive._

Cavendish remembered the anxiety he had felt in that moment. What would his new partner be like? Would he be a nice person? Maybe he wouldn't like Cavendish. Maybe they would have to part again because they can't get along. All this fear had been replaced by relief when he had seen his partner for the first time.

 _Past-Dakota entered the room, immediately walked over to Past-Cavendish and shook his hand enthusiastically. All the time he was grinning._

 _"Hey, I'm Dakota, Vinnie Dakota. Nice to meet you, partner."_

 _Past-Cavendish was surprised by all that energy. He somehow freed his hand out of the tight grip and said: "Eh... Hello. It is a pleasure to meet you, too."_

 _Past-Dakota was still smiling when he replied: "We're gonna have so much fun together. We will work together, live together, eat together. You have to know that I love food. There is nothing better than a great dinner. Anyway... we will save the world together! We-"_

 _"Of course we have to finish our first mission before we do all that.", Past-Cavendish interrupted his overjoyed partner before he could continue with his talk._

Cavendish remembered that a part of him had been stressed by Dakota's behavior. How could a grownup man be so active? But then again... it had been a nice change in his life. From the start he had known that he would never be bored again with this man at his side.

 _"That's right. I want my pistachios. And the two of you will save them from extinction."_

 _Past-Block entered the room and looked from one man to the other._

 _"Of course. Just give us the coordinates and my partner and I, we will do it.", Past-Dakota answered._

 _"Actually my name is Cavendish. Balthazar Cavendish.", Past-Cavendish said but his partner kept on talking: "We will save the pistachios... and then we'll save the whole world!"_

 _"Of course you will. But first you have to dress appropriately for the past. What year do you want?_ "

"70s.", Cavendish mumbled quietly while his past self and the Past-Dakota answered at the same time. Right... they had chosen the 70s. He exchanged a glance with Dakota and smiled.

' _Only that Dakota chose 1970 and I chose 1870_.'

"Let's move on to the next memory.", Dakota whispered and as fast as they had appeared they disappeared again.

This time they hid inside of a bush and watched the street that lead to Danville. A burning truck stood in the middle of the street, pistachios were lying on the ground. Next to the truck Past-Cavendish and Past-Dakota stood, trying to extinguish the fire with a water hose. It didn't work really good.

Cavendish started to remember this event. It had been the first mission they had failed. He had been angry and disappointed. How could this have happened? Their task had been so easy and still they hadn't succeeded. He had followed his first instinct.

" _This is your fault, Dakota."_

Thinking about this sentence while seeing it all again made Cavendish feel bad. Of course it hadn't been Dakota's fault. It had been an accident. But Cavendish had blamed his new partner.

"I'm sor-", he started but Dakota interrupted him: "Don't apologize. That's kind of our thing - something goes wrong and you blame me, I'm used to it."

"But that is not fair. It wasn't your fault. I don't have the right to put the blame on you."

"Let's move on.", Dakota simply said. Though he hadn't intended to make Cavendish feel sorry, it somehow felt good to hear an apology.

Many events followed this memory and with every place they travelled to, Cavendish started to remember more and more. And finally he started to understand something. All this time he had not appreciated Dakota the way that he would have deserved it. He had been a bad partner quite often and he regretted it.

Finally they arrived at the last memory... the night before Cavendish had disappeared.

 _"I think that we will finish the mission tomorrow.", Past-Dakota said and put a hand on his partner's shoulder. Past-Cavendish was sitting on a chair, leaning over the table, holding his head in his hands._

 _"We both know that we won't, Dakota. Don't try to cheer me up. We will always fail this mission. Even if it's not Murphy's law... something will always destroy everything."_

 _"Hey! I can cheer you up whenever I want to, okay? Come on, stand up.", Past-Dakota said and forced Past-Cavendish to stand up and walk over to the window._

 _"Look outside."_

 _Past-Cavendish did what he was told to and shrugged._

 _"What's there?"_

 _"There is a beautiful night sky. Look at all the stars, look at the moon - isn't it beautiful?"_

 _"I don't know what you're trying to say.", Past-Cavendish tried to turn around but Past-Dakota held his arm._

 _"As long as the stars are still shining, as long as this sky hasn't crashed down, there is hope. And it doesn't matter how often we have to try... one day we will finally save the pistachio. There is just one thing we can do: Never give up!_ "

Cavendish and Dakota stood inside the living room and watched their past selves talking through the open door.

"You know what?", Cavendish asked and Dakota looked at him.

"You were right. We can't give up. We have to keep on trying. You have searched for me for six months and you never gave up. I... I am glad to have a friend like you, Dakota. And though I don't say it... I really love you. You are the best friend that I have and I promise you that I will never leave you again."

And with that Cavendish pulled Dakota into a hug. He didn't really care anymore why he had lost his memories. The only thing important was here and now. Past, future - they could travel anywhere they wanted to. But what really counted was the present time. All that mattered was that they were together. And so they travelled back to the day where they had started their journey into the past.

"So... do you remember why you have lost your memory?", Dakota asked while they looked out of the window into the night sky.

Cavendish shook his head.

"No... but I don't really care. All that matters is that you are with me and that I remember you."

And when Cavendish focused on one of the stars, he thought that it was shining more brightly than the others. A star... A star! He had looked up in the sky when he had lost his memories! And there had been a star that had looked like that one. Cavendish didn't know how it was possible for a star to erase memories but he was sure that it was not a coincidence.

' _As long as the stars are still shining, there is hope_.'

And through this journey Cavendish had finally found his hope again. And he knew now that Dakota was giving him all the hope he needed. Maybe this had been the message. He would never know for sure.


End file.
